How many hours do you spend each week on menial tasks that distract from the bigger responsibilities of owning a business? As a small business owner, there are many things that you need to manage to ensure that you are taking care of the long-term success of your company. If you fail to keep up with these tasks, then you could be missing out on future growth and success.

The problem is that business owners often get stuck in the rut of spending time on simple tasks that could be outsourced or automated. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to micro-manage every aspect of your company. Instead, you should be looking for ways that you can implement systems and automation that will simplify the necessary tasks, freeing up your time to focus on business development and employee management.

Improving the efficiency of yourself and your team is a great way to maximize results and take your company to higher levels of success. We live in an amazing time when technology can be used to assist with everyday activities. These automated services and features can decrease your stress and free up your time to do the things that you love. Remember, time is money!

Steps for Automation in a Small Business

These are some of the automation and outsourcing steps that you need to implement for your company:

Monthly Bills: It is inevitable that you have monthly bills that need to be paid. These costs include everything from the utilities and rent payment, to equipment lease costs, office supplies, and inventory purchases. As the business owner, you shouldn’t be caught-up in the details of managing these expected costs. Many of the monthly expenses can be automatically drafted from your bank account, or you can hire an accounting or bookkeeping team to handle the details. For example, consider setting up a fixed average payment for your utilities, so that you can have a checking account draft or a check that is sent out for an expected amount every month.

Debt Payments: Many business owners have debt balances that need to be paid every month. In addition to regular utility and rent payments, you also need to put together a strategy to stay ahead of these debt payments. You have the option to make the minimum payments, although it is wise to pay more than the minimum if you have the resources available. Ideally, the balance should be paid in full every month. Work with an experienced accountant or bookkeeper to put together a monthly budget and debt pay-off plan. Then, you can schedule these payments to be sent automatically through online banking systems.

Payroll: There is no doubt that a lot of time and energy can go into payroll management. Not only do you need to work through the hours on employee timecards, but you also need to consider payroll taxes, withholdings, benefits, and more. Many business owners agree that payroll seems to take up an entire day of the week. What could you do with all of the extra time? There is no reason for you to manage payroll without a team to help. Talk to an accounting service to learn more about payroll automation and outsourced services that handle all of the details for your company. You can rest assured to know that payroll checks will be cut promptly, creating stability for your Not only will these payroll services take care of cutting the checks, but the services can also include ongoing tax paperwork and employment tax payments throughout the year.

Business Costs: Tracking every penny that is spent is essential so that you can maximize your tax deductions when it is time to file your business taxes. But, it can be a hassle to keep up with these tasks throughout the year. If you aren’t managing your transactions and receipts, then you might be paying more taxes than necessary! A good accounting system can make it easy for you to manage these costs. Combine a great software with an experienced accounting team, and there is no longer a need for you to spend your time on this busy work. Your transactions will be managed, and you can rest assured to know that you will be ready for your annual tax filing.

Cleaning: Most business owners will admit that they have scrubbed the office toilets at some point. Even though you are capable of using a toilet brush, doesn’t mean that you should be doing the dirty work. Automate office cleaning by using a maid service to manage these tasks. You can have a custodial team come into the office to scrub, vacuum, and clean. Also, consider other cleaning services such as a shredding bin that is picked up on a regular basis.

Tips for Implementing Automation in Your Company

When you see the benefits of automation, it is easy to see why you want to jump in and automate as much as possible. These systems can reveal daily tasks that are unnecessary, freeing up time and manpower to focus on things of more importance. Sometimes, the tasks can be consolidated to simplify the process for everyone involved.

But, you need to be cautious about implementing too many changes at once. Start small, and then work to increase the automation that you are using. Often, these changes are quite significant for a company, which means that they can have long-lasting effects if the automation isn’t implemented in the right way.

Start with the easiest, smallest process and then look for ways that you can continue to add onto these efforts. Look for one time-sucking process that is difficult to manage, and then find a solution for that single task. Then, you can move on to the next task, and keep going until you have optimized your business automation efforts. You will see that you can eventually create streamlined operations in a way that is organic and manageable for your team.

Hire the Experts to Help

Even though you have many years of experience as a business owner, it doesn’t mean that you have the experience necessary to implement the right automation strategy. In many situations, the best thing that you can do is hire an expert team to help. This experience can be a valuable way to optimize your results and ensure that the automation is set up to create the long-lasting results that you desire.

For example, if you want to simplify your payroll processing, then it might seem like an easy task to buy a payroll software and make the changes in-house. But, you don’t know the things that you will be missing along the way, which could cause a domino-effect because of the problems that occur. Instead of making the mistake of implementing a faulty system, it is worth the time and expense of bringing in an experienced accounting team who knows how to get it done right.

Not only will you avoid the stress and headache of a problematic payroll system, but you can also rest easy to know that everything was setup to match the regulations established by the IRS. The combination of automation with an experienced outsourcing team can be a dynamic way to improve your business systems and optimize your results going forward.

Learn to Rely on Automation Tools

Another common pitfall that business owners encounter is not trusting the automation tools that they are using. As a result, the automation tools are working to simplify business systems, but the work is completed twice because the business owner feels the need to check everything manually.

Once you have the right system in place and you are using a tool with a great reputation, then there is no reason for you to micro-manage every step of the automation. At the same time, you can also implement a system of checks and balances to catch errors and ensure that the system is working correctly. For example, you might be using a trusted accounting software, and also schedule a time for your accounting team to complete a reconciliation on a monthly basis. This system ensures that the numbers are handled correctly, and you don’t need to worry about crunching the numbers each day.

You can also rely on the automation tools by creating systems that bring the data to you. Setup reports that you can receive at certain times, helping you to stay current with the financial trends in your company. These details can help you make informed decisions as needed.

Do you need help with automation and outsourcing for your payroll, taxes, and other business financial systems? Easier Accounting offers the assistance that you need! Our team is experienced in small business accounting. We have the goal to reduce your stress level by handling the financial details. You are always invited to contact us to learn more about the way our services can be used to improve your business results. Call us right away to learn more about our company: (888) 620-0770